Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS)

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) facts

Hantaviruses are RNA viruses that are transmitted to human by rodents.

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a disease in which in the late stage of infection with a hantavirus subtype, patients experience lung congestion, fluid accumulation in the lungs, and shortness of breath. Death occurs in about 38% of patients. Early symptoms (fatigue, fever, muscle aches) are nonspecific.

Hantavirus was first identified in an outbreak in 1993 in the "Four Corners" area of the southwestern U.S. and found to be transmitted to humans by rodent urine, feces, saliva, and by airborne particles containing these items. The 2012 outbreak at Yosemite National Park was due to hantavirus transfer to humans by deer mice. Human-to-human transmission of hantavirus in the Americas has not been documented.

HPS is caused by hantaviruses that cause lung capillaries to leak fluid into the lung tissue.

HPS is usually diagnosed presumptively by the patient's lung symptoms or the patient's association with rodents, or the patient's probable contact with rodent-contaminated airborne dust; chest X-rays provide additional evidence, but definitive diagnosis is usually done at a specialized lab or the CDC.

There is no specific treatment of HPS; patients are usually treated in an intensive-care facility and often require respiratory support (intubation and mechanical ventilation).

Risk factors are any association with rodents and their airborne body excretions.

Complications of HPS are death in about 38% of patients; if the HPS patient survives, there are usually no long-term complications.

For patients who survive HPS, the prognosis is very good without complications.

Prevention of HPS centers on avoidance of rodent contamination; there is no vaccine available to prevent hantavirus infection or HPS.

Hantavirus in Yosemite

What can I do to protect myself while in Yosemite or other areas around
the U.S. where this has been found?

The park is a natural environment that contains wild animals, including
rodents. All visitors should be aware of safety information related to visiting
Yosemite, ranging from river safety to bear awareness and hantavirus awareness.

We do suggest that you are mindful of the steps that can be taken to reduce
exposure to hantavirus. These include:

Avoid touching live or dead rodents or disturbing rodent burrows, dens, or
nests.

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